Amapola Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
After a legendary career of over 45 years toiling in the vineyards of Sonoma County, Richard Arrowood opened his final winery, Amapola Creek, in 2005. Amapola is Spanish for “poppy,” and the creek that bears the name runs through the estate. When in bloom, the golden poppies line the creek and offer a lovely sight with the vineyards and mountains in the background.
The 100-acre ranch (purchased in 2001) that is home to Amapola Creek is situated on the western slope of the Mayacamas Mountains, which rise between and separate the Sonoma and Napa valleys. Although his wife Alis envisioned the site as the perfect place for a peaceful retirement, Richard had other ideas, and immediately set about selecting the best 20 acres of the property for use as the centerpiece of Amapola Creek Winery.
The mountainside estate vineyards are footed in red-brown volcanic soils, and are California Certified Organic. The winery itself is an “organic handling facility,” reflecting the Arrowoods’ commitment to making wine in the most natural way possible, as well as their “prevention not intervention” philosophy. The solar-powered winery is a small-production, ultra-premium facility with state-of-the-art equipment. To preserve quality, total annual production is just 3,000 cases.
In early December 2019, Richard Arrowood announced his retirement.
Amapola Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
The organically-farmed estate vineyard for this Cabernet is a high-elevation site featuring mineral-rich volcanic soils and cooling breezes from San Pablo Bay. The grapes were hand-picked and pressed. After fermentation the wine was aged for 24 months in new and seasoned French and American oak. It is neither fined nor filtered.
This release marks Arrowood’s 50th vintage. It is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Petit Verdot. The wine is is classic deep garnet-purple in color, and gives up somewhat closed notes of blackberries, black plums, and cassis with touches of pencil shavings, and cedar chest. The palate is full-bodied, and continues with blackberries and black cherry. It has a solid frame of firm, grippy tannins, and finishes long with a minted lift.
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